![]() ![]() ![]() This happens because although they move slower than body waves, their particle movement is much more pronounced (see below). In the case of Rayleigh waves, the motion is of a rolling nature, similar to an ocean surface wave. As opposed to body waves (S and P waves), they propagate on the surface and carry the vast majority of the energy felt on the surface - in other words, these are what you feel when you experience an earthquake. Surface waves (Rayleigh and Love) do by far the most damage. They propagate longitudinally on the propagation direction (think of an accordion) and are harmless in terms of earthquake damage.ĪLSO READ: The San Andreas fault - what it is, why it matters, and what you should know about its earthquakes Primary waves (P-waves). These are the “first” body waves - the ones that travel the fastest and through any type of medium (solid, liquid, gas).The main types of seismic waves are the following: Seismologists like to split seismic waves into several categories, but the main types of seismic waves come in two categories - body waves (which move throughout entire bodies, such as the Earth), and surface waves )(which travel only on different surfaces, not through the whole body). This requires very particular conditions to happen, but if it does happen, it creates a type of “anti-crack” and can generate massive, deep earthquakes. Their chemistry remains the same, but their volume and density change dramatically if an equilibrium is reached. Another cause of some very deep earthquakes is the so-called mineral phase change: atoms in minerals such as olivine can change their positions to become more tightly packed. For some earthquakes, the cause remains poorly understood, particularly in the case of intraplate tectonics (inside tectonic plates, not on the edges). ![]()
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